Illuminated blank book.



W. F. X. FINDLEY.

ILLUMINATED BLANK BooK.

APPLICATION FLLED FEB. 19, 1916,

WILLIAM F. X. FINDLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ILLUMINATED BLANK BOOK.

recata.

Application filed February 19, 1916.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. X. FIND- LEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Blank Books; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description thereof, reference being had to .the accompanying drawings, and to the reference characters marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in blank or memorandum books, and more particularly to an` improved adaptation of illuminating means to a book of the character described by incorporating in the structure thereof an electric lamp and a source of electrical energy, as a dry battery or cell. rI`he utility of a device of this character is suggested by the foregoing description, namely, the convenience of a book having a self contained source of light arranged to illuminate the surface of the book, for the purpose of writing upon blank sheets or obtaining access to written matter contained in the book, in the absence of daylight or source of artificial illumination.

Among the features of the invention is the adaptationv of an illuminating element to a book, and the novel method employed in mounting the illuminating element within the book, thereby providing a neat and compact device, which may be of a size to be conveniently carriedin the pocket or to fulfil any purpose -or use to which it might be put.

A further feature of the invention embodies a switch arranged to provide for the automatic lighting and extinguishing of the lamp by the opening and closing of the book.

These features as Well as others will be more clearl)1 described as I proceed with the description of the embodiment of my invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in perspective, showing the book in open position, the parts of the lamp being in position to effect the lighting of the lamp; Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View showing the contact member and parts constituting the automatically controlled switch; and Fig. ,Je is an enlarged detail .view of a modified form of the switch operating means.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 79,252.

Referring to the drawings, the blank or memorandum book 10 may be of the usual construction, comprising a stiff back l1, covers 12, 12 connected or hinged to the back, and a suitable' number of sheets or pages of paper, either mounted upon the back or covers of the book. As a convenient arrangement, I have illustrated the book 10 as having on one cover 12 a iexible pocket 13 upon the inner surface thereof and opening outwardly toward the forward edge of said cover, said pocket being preferably provided with a flap 14 having a suitable fastening device, as for instance a tongue 15 arranged to engage a slit 16 in the pocket, as shown. @n the other cover 12, and oppositely disposed to said pocket 13, is a pad or bound package of paper sheets 17 arranged to be removably secured to the cover in any suitable manner.

rllhe illuminating means is mounted on the back 11 of the book, and comprises a cylindric battery casing 18 containing a battery or dry cell 19 and provided at one end With a small incandescent lamp 20. The casing 18 is secured to the inner surface of the back 11 in the following manner. Within the back 11 of the book is provided a metal strip 21 preferably extending the full length and width of said back and conforming to the usual curvature of the same. This metal strip is coveled by the leather or cloth binding of the book, and constitutes a reinforcing member serving to increase the strength of the book as well as a support for the battery. Furthermore, this metal strip reinforcing member serves as a conductor, forming a part of the circuit through the battery, as will hereinafter be pointed out.

As a preferable method for removably mounting the battery and lamp within the book, there is provided at the lower end of the back 11 of the book an upwardly opening socket 22 rigidly secured to the metal strip or reinforcing member 21. Spaced from said socket and adjacent to the upper end of the back 1l is provided a metal ring 23 also secured to the metal strip 21 in any suitable manner. The battery casing 18 preferably comprises a tubular member adapted to be removably inserted through the ring 23 and to engage at its lower end the socket 22. At the upper end of the casing 18 is mounted a lamp socket 24 arranged transversely of the casing and containing said lamp 20. A conductor 25, having electrical connection retreated oet. sa, faire.;l

with said socket, is mounted within a foundation of insulating material 26 inthe upper end of the casing, and forms a connection between said lamp and the upper end of the battery 19. A" metallic reflector 28, attached in a suitable manner to the battery casing, extends outwardly over the upper portion of the lamp and serves to project the rays of light upon the surfaces of the covers 12, 12, when the book is in open position.

l/Vithin the socket 22 is mounted a coil spring 30 (Fig. 2), which engagesthe lower end of the battery contained within the casing, the latter being open at its lower end. The spring not only serves to hold the battery from Vendwise movement, but also constitutes an electrical conductor, inasmuch as said spring is electrically connected with a pin 31 extending through an enlarged aperture in the lower end of the socket and completely insulated from the socket by two disks 32 and 33 placed on opposite sides of the lower wall of said socket.

@peratively and electrically connected to the pin 31 is a switch arranged to automatically close the circuit through the battery upon the opening of the'book, thereby light ing the lamp, and likewise to break the cir cuit upon the closing of the book, thus extinguishing the lamp. As a preferable method of accomplishing this end, said contact member consists of a radially extending metal arm 34 pivotallyimounted upon the outer extremity of the pin 31 and adapted to be rotated in a plane transverse tothe axis of the pin, upon which it is pivoted. A light coiled spring 35 surrounds the pin 31, intermediate the contact arm 34 and the insulating disk 33, and attached at its respective ends to said arm and disk in a suitable manner, the function of the spring being to exert a constant tension on said con tact arm tending to rotate it in a counterclockwise direction, thereby effecting the engagement or electrical contact between said contact arm and the metallic strip 21 of the back 11, said strip being exposed by removing a portion of the leather or cloth binding at the point where the contact occurs, as shown in Fig. 3, .it being understood that the strip is covered by or embedded within the leather or cloth binding throughout all other portions thereof. When the contact arm 34 is in contact with the metallic strip 21, it is apparent that an electrical circuit is completed through the lamp and battery,

inasmuch as said strip 21, the ring 23, and battery casing 18 form an external conductor leading to the lamp socket and lamp, the.

latter in turn being in electrical contact with one end or sideof the battery through the internal conductor 25. The opposite end or side of the battery is in electrical ,connection with the contact arm 34 through the spring 30 and pin 31; thus to complete the circuit it is only necessary to eiect a contact between said arm 34 and the metal strip 21.

It being understood that the circuit through the lamp and battery will be closed when the contact arm 34 engages thev .exposed surface of the metal strip or conductor 21, the means for separating said contact member and conductor to elect an opening of the circuit and the extinguishing of the lamp may now be described'. As a suitable means for accomplishing this end, there is provided'upon the inner surface of the back and adjacent to the contact member a flat trip member 36 (Fig. 3) extending transversely of the back 11 and secured at one end to one of the covers 12. The free end of the trip member is preferably coiled or turned in order to provide an enlarged end 37 adapted 'to engage the arm 34 along an inclined edge, as at 38. The trip member 36 is preferably of a flexible metal, although it may be of a suitable insulating material having the same qualities as a thin metal strip. If of metal, thestrip is arranged so as to be insulated at all times from the conducting strip 21 embedded in the back of the book.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the strip 36 will be moved endwise by the relative movement of the back 11 and the cover 12 to which it is attached, in the act of opening or closing the book; thus whenthe-book is in open position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, the trip member will occupy a position such that the enlarged end of the same will be withdrawn from the contact arm 34 a distance sufficient to permit said arm to remain in contact with the exposed surface of the contact strip 21 under the action of the spring 35,.thereby effecting the lighting of the lamp. On closing the book, however, the trip member will be moved endwise toward and in contact with the contact arm to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, thereby separating said contact arm from the conducting strip, with the result that the circuit is broken and the lamp extinguished. 1f desired, the trip member. may be covered or embedded in the binding of the hook, thus concealing the larger portion thereof, care being exercised, however, to completely insulate said strip from the conducting strip 21, as before suggested. By this construction, therefore, provision is made for the automatic lighting and extinguishing of the lamp in the act of opening and closing' the book, thus eliminating the necessity of manually operating the contact arm.

A modified construction for operating the lamp is obviously to eliminate the automatic control feature and provide a manually operable switch or contact arm 40, as shown in Fig. 4. In this arrangement the spring em- Laoaaee ployed in the automatically operated form is eliminated; thus the contact member may be pressed downwardly by the thumb or finger of the operator after the book hasV been opened. In this modified form,'however, it is preferable to provide a rounded extremity or linger piece 41, which terminates adja-.

cent to one of the cover members 12 (Fig. 4). The-purpose of arrangement is to provide means whereby the contact arm Will be rotated slightly by the contact of the rounded edge thereof with the cover 12', when the same is moved in the act of closing the book. By this arrangement the opening of the circuit and the extinguishing of the lamp is assured .when thewbook is in closed position. A device of the character described is designed with a view to producing a simple and compact device suitable to meet the requirements ofpersons employed in capacities requiring the taking of notes,` and data in locations where darkness prevails or in the night time under conditions where artificial illumination is not available. Y

Although I have illustrated and described a specific'embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that the construction may be variously modified Without departingfrom the.

spirit of the'invention.v Thus, any arrangement of the contents or the means for retaining the materials Within the book may be employed. For these reasons I do not wish to be limited in the scope of the invention, except in so far as specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A book comprising' covers and a back. an electric battery and lamp mounted on said back and within the book, said back being provided with a metallic reinforcing strip having supporting engagement with said battery and acting as an electrical conductor for said battery.

2. A blank book comprising a back and covers.; said back being provided with a metallic strip, a battery and lamp mounted within said book and in electrical connection on one side of said battery with said metallic strip, and a contact member in electrical connection with the opposite side of said battery and arranged to be moved into and out of contact with said metallic strip to close and open the circuit through said battery.

3. A blank book comprising a back and covers, said back being provided with a.

metal reinforcing member, a battery and' lamp mounted upon said reinforcing member and in electrical connection therewith on oney side of said battery, and a contact member in electrical connection with the opposite side of said battery and arranged to be moved into and out of contact with said reinforcing member to close and open thc circuit through said battery.

4l. A blank book comprising a back and covers, said back having a metallic strip extending the length thereof, a socket member secured to said metallic strip adjacent one end thereof, a battery including a lamp removably supported by said socket, and a movable contact arm in said socket and in electrical connection with one side of said battery, the other side of said battery being electrically connected through the lamp with said metallic strip, said contact arm being arranged to be moved into and out of contact with said metallic strip to close and open the circuit through said battery and lamp.

5. A blank book comprising a back and covers, said back having a metallic reinforcing member extending the length thereof, a socket member secured to said metallic member adjacent one end thereof, a battery casing removably held within said socket. a lamp mounted in said battery casing, and a contact arm rotatably mounted in said socket and arranged to be moved into and out of contact with said metallic reinforcing member to close and open the circuit through said battery and lamp.

6. The combination with a blank or memorandum book, of a battery and lamp mounted Within said book`and embracing a conductor exterior to said battery, a contact member in electrical connection with said battery and arranged to be moved into and out of contact with said conductor, and a member operated by the relative movement of the covers and back and acting to move saidcontact member into and out of contact with said conductor when said book is Imember in electrical connection with said battery, tension means acting on said contact member to move the same into contact with said conductor, and a member operated by the relative movement of the covers and back and adapted to engage said contact member to move the same out of contact with said conductor when said book is closed. and to permit the contact of said contact member and conductor under the action of said tension means when said book is opened.

8. The combination with a blank or mcmo randum book. of a battery and lamp mounted Within said book and embracing a conductor exterior to said battery. a spring actuated Contact member in electrical connection with said battery. a trip member attached at one end to a cover of the book and adapted to engage said contact armfnear its frcc end. said trip member being movable in one direction when said book .is closed to presence of two Witnesses this 17th day of February, A. D. 1916.

IVILLIAM F. X. FINDLEY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES I-I. PooLE, CLARA-x L. PEoPLEs. 

